


Start A Brand New Story

by torakowalski



Series: AU Prompts [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Deaf Clint Barton, Gen, Librarian AU, Pre-Slash, Prompt Fic, gratuitous Mummy references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2014-09-19
Packaged: 2018-02-18 01:04:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2329580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torakowalski/pseuds/torakowalski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Did that book personally offend you?” Phil asks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Start A Brand New Story

**Author's Note:**

> For [isisanubis](http://isisanubis.tumblr.com/) who asked for Librarian/Avid Reader AU.

“Homeless dude’s back,” Jasper says, handing Phil a stack of recently-returned books.

Phil automatically looks over at the Young Adult corner, where the same young man has sat for the past three days.

“I’m not sure he’s homeless,” Phil says. They do have homeless visitors, sometimes. Everyone ignores library policy and lets them use the bathrooms, and borrow books without a verifiable address. This guy, though, just seems lonely.

Lonely and frustrated, Phil amends, watching him slam one book back into its place and pull out another, apparently at random.

Phil winces. “Excuse me,” he says, mentally picturing creased covers, or worse. Jasper snorts, as though he’s not at least as protective of the books in his sections.

Phil crosses the floor and crouches down beside the guy, who’s leaning back against a wall, out of sight of most of the library’s patrons.

“Did that book personally offend you?” Phil asks.

The guy jumps then straightens his shoulders. Up close, he’s slightly older than Phil thought, maybe twenty-five, with wary blue eyes, and big, old-fashioned hearing aids behind each ear.

“What?” he asks. His eyes flick past Phil, as though looking for an escape route.

“Did the book offend you?” Phil repeats, making sure he can see Phil’s lips, this time. (Phil wishes he’d learned to sign back in college, when the option had been available. He’d dreamed of being a spy back then, so had learned Russian, instead.)

“No,” the guy says. He looks at the bookshelf where Phil’s surreptitiously checking for damage, sighs, and pulls out the book he just jammed back into place. The cover is creased, but not torn, and it smoothes out easily under his long, narrow fingers. “There. Better?”

“Much,” Phil agrees, and smiles. “Do you need help picking a book?”

The guy looks at him for a moment then, “No, thanks,” he says, and picks up the other book he selected. Phil watches him turn the pages steadily for a couple of minutes, and is just about to stand up and give him some space, when the guy slams that book closed too and drops it to the ground.

“Okay,” he says, “you caught me.”

“Excuse me?” Phil asks. “If I caught you reading, that’s allowed. In fact, we’re the sort of library that encourages that.”

He was hoping for a smile, but he doesn’t get one. What he gets is the guy looking down into his lap and shrugging his shoulders. It looks more protective than casual. “You caught me pretending to read.”

“Pretending,” Phil says slowly, then realises the guy isn’t looking at him. “Sorry, can you hear me?”

“Kinda,” he says, but he does look up. He taps the hearing aid behind his left ear. “This one’s shitty, but the other one works okay. Mostly.”

“You can’t read?” Phil asks. He makes sure not to sound judgemental at all, but the guy’s posture still goes tight and defensive.

He doesn’t answer, he just flicks his fingers over the cover of the book he abandoned, looking miserable. “No,” he says at last. “I’m too dumb.”

“You’re not dumb,” Phil says immediately. “I bet you’re not.”

He snorts. “Nice, thanks, but you don’t know me.”

Phil nods. “That’s true. But I know books, and I know that reading can be difficult to start with.”

“If you’re dumb,” the guy supplies.

“No.” Phil doesn’t mean to sound so forceful, but that’s what happens. The guy flinches, and Phil deliberately shifts backwards slightly, giving him space. “We run an adult reading programme here, at the library.” They don’t technically, but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t start.

That gets him a cautious look. “Yeah? How much’s it cost?”

“Nothing,” Phil says. “Just the price of a library card.”

“How much is a library card?”

“It’s free,” Phil says and finally, finally the guy laughs.

“Okay,” he says. “You’re kind of a smartass, you know that? Okay, you can teach me to read.” He sounds cautiously hopeful there at the end, although Phil’s sure he’s not supposed to hear that.

“It’d be my pleasure,” Phil says, meaning it. “I’m Phil.”

“Clint,” he says, and shakes Phil’s offered hand. “I’m warning you now, I’m gonna be the worst pupil you’ve ever had.”

He’ll technically be the first pupil Phil’s ever had. “You’ll be the best,” Phil tells him confidently, hiding a smile when Clint’s cheeks blush, very slightly.

“Come on,” Phil says, standing up. He reaches down to pick up Clint’s book while Clint gets to his feet. ”Harry Potter?”

"My brother took me to see the first movie," Clint says defensively. "It was good."

"It’s an excellent choice," Phil says. "It’s one of my favourites."

Clint wrinkles his nose. “Yeah?” he says, suspiciously. “You’re just saying that.”

Phil gasps with mock affront and clutches the book to his chest. ”I’m a librarian,” he says. “I never lie.”

Clint glances at him sideways and smirks. “You,” he says with great deliberation. “Are a librarian.”

It takes Phil a second then he nods, chuckling. “The Mummy is a movie upon which I have based my life,” he agrees.

"How’s that working out for you?" Clint asks.

"Excellently." They’re reached the main desk, so Phil rummages around for a blank form. He nearly passes it over to Clint, before realising that a person who can’t read probably struggles with forms, and picks up a pen, instead. "We’d better get this filled in, if we’re to defeat the High Priest Imhotep.”

"Well, if you’re gonna put it that way," Clint says, and sits down in the visitor’s chair.


End file.
